On this site will be posted analyses of popular media productions. These analyses will have to do with determining the underlying meanings of various movies, songs, and certain novels. Methods used to analyze a given production will include exploration of the creators' use of symbolism, allegory, metaphor, etc., and deciphering any arcane or obscure references that it may contain.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Top left: The 'Good' Witch of the North escorts Dorothy (wearing blue) up the platform structure that is built into the pool in Munchkinland. The Witch is here giving the impression that she is helping Dorothy ascend to the fourth terrace of Dante's Purgatory (with ground level representing the first terrace). Top right: The Good Witch stands with Dorothy on the fourth terrace, for all the Munchkins to see, as if the Witch's guidance has led Dorothy to achieve some sort of progress. Above left: As Dorthy gets ready to descend back down the platform structure, the view of it that is shown now gives the appearance of having six levels (including ground level) instead of four. Above right: As Dorothy gets into a horse-drawn carriage, after descending the platform steps to ground level, the Witch stands alone on the top platform.

The final state of the situation shown above depicts Dorothy in the fifth circle of Dante's Hell, where the wrathful and the sullen are punished (with the top of the platform structure being the vestibule in this context). Here, in the swampy waters of the river Styx, the wrathful fight each other on the surface, and the sullen lie gurgling beneath the water. Within the foregoing context, ground level in Munchkinland now represents the fifth circle of Dante's Hell. What must be the case is that over the period of time during the sequence of events taking place in Munchkinland, there is a 'shift' at some point in time during this period, whereby there is, effectively, movement from the fourth circle of Hell (which we recall from part 2 is represented by ground level in Muchkinland upon Dorothy's arrival there), to the fifth circle. Note that within the context of Dorothy now occupying the fifth circle, the water in the pool now represents the river Styx.

Whereas the 'Good' Witch has left Dorothy in the fifth circle of Hell, she herself now occupies the Sixth Sphere of Dante's Paradiso (Paradise). In the Paradiso, Paradise is depicted as a series of concentric spheres surrounding the Earth, consisting of the moon, Mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, the Primum Mobile and finally, the Empyrean. The events in Paradiso take place following those of Purgatorio. Allegorically, the Paradiso depicts the soul's ascent to God.[a]

The sixth sphere of Paradise is the sphere of Jupiter, wherein reside the Just Rulers. The planet Jupiter is traditionally associated with the king of the gods, so Dante makes this planet the home of the rulers who displayed justice.[a] However, what is being depicted in The Wizard of Oz, by the 'Good' Witch being in sphere 6 of Paradise, is the Witch's desire to be a 'God-like' ruler over some kind of evil kingdom. The real-world correspondence to this evil kingdom, will be discussed later in this analysis.

In light of what is said above about the 'Good' Witch occupying Paradise, we see that the movement among the platforms depicted in the scenes shown in the above screencaps, indicates that the Witch first uses Dorothy to help her get to the Fourth Sphere of Paradise, then, as suggested by their subsequent position, the two of them have moved together to the top level, with this representing the Sixth Sphere of Paradise for the Witch, but the vestibule at the entrance to Hell for Dorothy; then, Dorothy descends back down the platforms, representing successive levels of Hell, such that she ends up in the fifth circle of Hell as described above.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Chakra, also spelled Cakra, Sanskrit C̣akra, ("wheel"), are any of a number of psychic-energy centres of the body, prominent in the occult physiological practices of certain forms of Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. The chakras are conceived of as focal points where psychic forces and bodily functions merge with and interact with each other. Among the supposed 88,000 chakras in the human body, six major ones located roughly along the spinal cord and another one located just above the crown of the skull are of principal importance. Each of these seven chakras is associated with a specific color, shape, sense organ, natural element, deity, and mantra (monosyllabic prayer formula). The most important of these are the lowest chakra (muladhara), located at the base of the spine, and the highest (sahasrara), at the top of the head. The muladhara encircles a mysterious divine potency (kundalini, described below) that the individual attempts, by Yogic techniques, to raise from chakra to chakra until it reaches the sahasrara (at the top of the head) and self-illumination results.[a]

Kundalini is, in some Tantric (esoteric) forms of Yoga, the cosmic energy that is believed to lie within everyone, pictured as a coiled serpent lying at the base of the spine. Through a series of techniques that combine prescribed postures, gestures, and breathing exercises, the practitioner brings the kundalini up along the spine to his head. On the way the kundalini passes through six imagined centers, or cakras, as indicated above. When the kundalini arrives at the seventh cakra, at the top of the head,[b] self-illumination results (as stated above).

Ajna chakra is located slightly below sahasrara, at a position directly behind the center of the forehead. It is linked to the pineal gland. The pineal gland regulates sleep cycles via melatonin production, and may also produce dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic compound. Most of what we see in the movie is a dream Dorothy experiences, beginning soon after she falls unconscious during the tornado, due to her head being hit by a window sash. The effect of excess dimethyltryptamine production on her brain causes her to have a 'psychedelic' (i.e., hallucinogenic) experience, which consists of her dream as we see it. For although Dorothy's kundalini begins in her muladhara chakra, at the base of her spine, at the beginning of the movie, her kundalini rises rapidly to her ajna chakra at the moment she is knocked unconscious. Then, once the dream starts, with Dorothy arriving in Munchkinland, her kundalini begins to move downward through her other chakras, and continues to do so during her journey down the yellow brick road, as symbolized by the characters she meets (the Scarecrow, etc.), and by certain other events and actions.

When the kundalini is flowing upward, as it normally does, ajna chakra signifies the end of duality, the characteristic of being dual (e.g. male and female, light and dark, etc.). However, since Dorothy's kundalini is flowing downward (during her dream), her kundalini's being at ajna chakra signifies the beginning of her becoming dual, symbolizing the beginning of duality in Woman.

The next chakra below ajna is the vishuddha (throat) chakra. Singing stimulates the throat chakra. Recall that Dorothy and the various characters she meets, for example, the Scarecrow, sing. (The screencap at left is from the scene in which Dorothy sings along with the Scarecrow).

The next chakra down is anahata, the heart chakra. Recall that the Tin Man, the next person Dorothy meets after the Scarecrow, doesn't have a heart. The next chakra is manipura, which is located in the area of the solar plexus. This chakra is associated with courage, which is something the Lion is lacking. The final two chakras are swadisthana and muladhara, the latter being located at the base of the spine, which is where the kundalini normally begins.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Purgatorio (Italian for Purgatory) is the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy, following the Inferno, and preceding the Paradiso. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of Dante up the Mount of Purgatory, guided by the Roman poet Virgil, except for the last four cantos at which point Beatrice takes over as Dante's guide. In the poem, Purgatory is depicted as a mountain consisting of a bottom section (Ante-Purgatory), seven levels of suffering and spiritual growth (associated with the seven deadly sins), and finally the Earthly Paradise at the top. Allegorically, the poem represents the Christian life, and in describing the climb Dante discusses the nature of sin, examples of vice and virtue, and moral issues in politics and in the Church. The poem outlines a theory that all sin arises from love – either perverted love directed towards others' harm, or deficient love, or the disordered love of good things.

Having survived the depths of Hell (described in the Inferno), Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom, to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world. The mountain is an island, the only land in the Southern Hemisphere. Dante describes Hell as existing underneath Jerusalem, created by the impact of Satan's fall. Mount Purgatory, on exactly the opposite side of the world, was created by a displacement of rock, caused by the same event.

Dante and Virgil first travel through Ante-Purgatory. Then, from the gate of Purgatory, Virgil guides Dante through its seven terraces. As stated above, these correspond to the seven deadly sins. The classification of sin here is more psychological than that of the Inferno, being based on motives, rather than actions. The core of the classification is based on love: the first three terraces of Purgatory relate to perverted love directed towards actual harm of others, the fourth terrace relates to deficient love (i.e. sloth or acedia), and the last three terraces relate to excessive or disordered love of good things.[b]

The first terrace relates to pride, it is where proud souls purge their sin. As indicated in the right-hand screencap above, this is the terrace Dorthy inhabits when she begins to wander around Muchkinland after just having arrived there. Recall from part 2 of this analysis that we said Dorothy is the allegorical Dante, and Toto represents Virgil, Dante's guide.

The second terrace of Purgatory is where the envious purge their sin.[b]

Above left: Recall that the Wicked Witch of the West has green skin. As mentioned in part 1 of the analysis, green can symbolize envy (there is a saying, "green with envy"). Since the Wicked Witch flies overhead, she is physically above the land inhabited by Dorothy. The point is that the Witch is being depicted as being in terrace 2 of Purgatory (where the envious reside), which is one level above terrace 1. Above right: The Wicked Witch envies Dorothy for her ruby slippers.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Above left: Dorothy and the Munchkins. Note the mayor's large pocket watch. Above right: Part of the greenery in Munchkinland.

As already observed, the sin of greed is punished in circle 4 of Dante's Hell. Since this is one of the circles in which Munchkinland is located, the indication is that the Munchkins themselves represent some group of greedy persons.

Note in the left-hand screencap above, that the Mayor of Munchkinland wears green clothing; this links him to the green of Emerald City, which is where Satan resides (as observed in part 2, part of Emerald city is in the 9th circle of Hell); this suggests that the mayor is an emissary of Satan. Also, the fact that the Mayor wears a large pocket watch, suggests some sort of 'time for money' arrangement, and therefore, some kind of Faustian bargain. In fact, since the Mayor is an emissary of Satan, the indication is that he represents Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust.

If the word Munchkin is broken down by its syllables, the words 'munchkin' are obtained. According to the online MacMillan Dictionary, the word 'munch' means "to eat something using your teeth and jaws in a noisy way", and the word 'kin' means "all the people in your family." If we take "family" here as 'extended family', i.e., the family of Man, then going by these definitions, the Munchins are people who 'eat' other people, i.e., they are metaphorical cannibals.

The reason the Munchkins are so short is because they suffer from a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). According to the National Institutes of Health, both boys and girls with CAH will be tall as children but much shorter than normal as adults.[a] Symptoms of CAH can also include hermaphroditism. In a National Institutes of Health study, the most common cause of ambiguous genitalia in newborn patients was congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-OH deficiency.[b]
According to the National Adrenal Diseases Foundation, "Non-classical CAH is among the most common genetic disorders, with Ashkenazi Jews having the highest prevalence."[c]

Today Ashkenazim constitute more than 80 percent of all the Jews in the world, vastly outnumbering Sephardic Jews.[d]

Even those suffering from non-classical CAH will be taller than normal as children and shorter than normal as adults.[e]

Non-classical CAH is a mild variant of one of the common causes of female pseudohermaphroditism.[f] As observed in part 1 of the analysis, pseudohermaphroditism is a condition in which the individual has a single chromosomal and gonadal sex but combines features of both sexes in the external genitalia, causing doubt as to the true sex.[g]

The implication of all of the above is that the Munchkins represent evil greedy hermaphroditic Jews.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Inferno (Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine circles of suffering located within the Earth. The circles are concentric and descend into the Earth, representing a gradual increase in wickedness as one descends from circle 1 to circle 9, and culminate at the center of the Earth, where Satan is held in bondage. Each circle's sinners are punished in a fashion fitting their crimes: Each sinner is afflicted for all of eternity by the chief sin he committed. (People who sinned but prayed for forgiveness before their deaths are found not in Hell but in Purgatory, where they labor to be free of their sins. Purgatory will be discussed later in this analysis.) Those in Hell are people who tried to justify their sins and are unrepentant.[a] As described below, there is representation of Dante's Hell in our movie, with Dorothy herself being the allegorical Dante, on a journey through this Hell, and her dog, Toto, being the allegorical Virgil (i.e., Dorothy's guide through Hell). (Note: The diagram of the structure of Dante's Hell at below right, is a 'profile' (i.e., side) view; if viewed from above, the viewer would see nine concentric circles).

Above: The structure of Dante's Hell, with the sin punished in each circle being labeled. Note that greed is punished in circle 4; as we will see below, this is one of the circles in which Munchkinland resides. Left: Inside the palace at Emerald City, during the second visit there by Dorothy and her companions: The red smoke and flames suggest the fires of Hell, and thus, the inside of the palace itself is in (Dante's) Hell.

Left: The decorative green structure protruding from the side of one of the Emerald Palace's walls, at the far left of the screencap, is designed by the movie-makers to be a representation of the levels of Dante's Hell. Here, each level has been labeled with its corresponding circle number, and the fact that the innermost segment represents level 9 (i.e., circle 9), indicates that when Dorothy and the others are standing at floor level in the palace, they are in circle 9 of Hell.

Left: The labeling of the gray platforms, and of the pool water surface (which can be taken as being at ground level), using black and brown numerals, indicates that Dorothy, standing at ground level in Munchkinland, is in both circles 4 and 7 of Hell. The river Phlegethon lies in circle 7, and is represented by the water flowing into the pool. This water also represents the river Acheron, and the fact that Dorothy is here on the 'shore' of the Acheron indicates that she is also standing in the vestibule, which is not in Hell proper, but is instead just before the entrance to Hell. Thus, as labeled in dark blue text (near the center right of the screencap), when Dorothy has first arrived in Munchkinland, she is simultaneously in the vestibule, circle 4, and circle 7. The three rings of circle 7, described below, are represented by the three different sizes of floating circular green pads (labeled 'A', 'B', and 'C' on the screencap).

If one imagines the gray platform structure and the lamp in the above screencap being flipped upside down, a physical structure similar to that of Dante's Hell can be visualized. In the flipped structure, the numbering of circles 1 through 7 (labeled on the screencap in black numerals) would be reversed, i.e., '1' would become '7' (and thus indicate the level of circle 7), '2' would become '6' (indicating circle 6), '3' would become '5', etc. To aid in visualization, the positions of the 8th and 9th circles have been labeled (in red text and numbers) in their correct sequence (i.e., 9 will end up below 8 after the flip). The red numeral '8' is actually pointing to the top of the small green cone-shaped structure at the base of the green lamp-post (click image to enlarge). The bottom of the cone sits atop the smaller gray structure indicated by the rightward pointing white arrow.

In addition to labeling (in black) the circle positions along the right-hand edge of the platform structure sitting above the pool (and the pool water surface itself), there have also been labels placed (in brown numerals - '1' through '4') along the left-hand side of the larger platforms (indicated by the large white downward-pointing arrow) and the water surface - the entire platform structure is designed as it is by the movie-makers, to suggest the 'dual' numbering scheme as indicated in the screencap (using the black and brown numerals), and to thereby give the audience a hint that Muchkinland is, speaking metaphorically, in circle 4 and circle 7, as stated (in addition to being in the vestibule). Note that the hints about Munchkinland being in circles 4 and 7 are given in a context that is before the above-mentioned flip. (After the flip, the brown numerals themselves effectively become irrelevant).

The wall enclosing the pool represents the walls of Dis. In Inferno, the City of Dis encompasses the sixth through ninth circles of Hell, which are marked in the above screencap as '2', '1', '8', and '9' respectively. Again, after the flip, '2' would become circle 6, and '1' would become circle 7; both of these points, as well as '8' and '9', would be within the pool wall after the flip, since the pool itself, and its wall, are not to be flipped.

According to the story in Dante's Inferno, Dante the Pilgrim (as contrasted with Dante the author of the story, though the two are essentially the same person), and his guide, Virgil, who are together in the vestibule and have not yet entered Hell completely, see the Uncommitted (i.e., the Indifferent), souls of people who in life did nothing, neither for good nor evil; these souls are neither in Hell nor out of it, but reside on the shores of the river Acheron. Their punishment is to eternally pursue a banner (i.e., self interest) while being chased by wasps and hornets that continually sting them as maggots and other such insects drink their blood and tears. This symbolizes the sting of their conscience and the repugnance of sin. This can also be seen as a reflection of the spiritual stagnation they lived in.[a]

Those whose attitude toward material goods deviated from the appropriate mean are punished in the fourth circle. They include the avaricious or miserly, who hoarded possessions, and the prodigal, who squandered them. The two groups are guarded by a figure Dante names as Pluto, either Pluto the classical ruler of the underworld or Plutus the Greek god of wealth.[a]
The seventh circle houses the violent. The Minotaur serves as gatekeeper for the entire seventh circle, which is divided into three rings. The outer ring (represented by the large-diameter green pads floating in the water, such as the one labeled 'C' in the above screencap), houses the violent against people and property. Sinners are immersed in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood and fire, to a level commensurate with their sins. In the middle ring (labeled 'B') are the suicides and profligates. Finally, the inhabitants of the inner ring ('A') are the violent against God (blasphemers) and the violent against nature (sodomites and usurers).

All of the inhabitants of the inner ring of the seventh circle reside in a desert of flaming sand with fiery flakes raining from the sky, a fate similar to Sodom and Gomorrah. The blasphemers lie on the sand, the usurers sit, and the sodomites wander about in groups.[a] Recall from our movie that when snow begins to fall in the poppy field, Dorothy is lying down, and the Lion has his body positioned such that he takes on the appearance of both lying and sitting (the latter being suggested by the positioning of his legs; see screencap at left). Also note that Dorothy and her companions are traveling as a group. We've already noted that the Lion represents a gay person, and thus, he represents a sodomite. In accordance with the above, he must also represent a usurer and a blasphemer. And, since Dorthy is here lying down, she herself must represent a blasphemer.

Recall from above that Dorthy's guide through Hell is her dog, Toto. From the Dictionary of Symbols:

"There cannot be a mythology which does not associate a dog...with death, Hell, the Underworld or with those invisible realms ruled by the deities of Earth or Moon. At first glance, therefore, the extremely complex symbolism of the dog seems linked to the threefold elements Earth, Water, and Moon, with their recognized female and hidden significance, all connected with the basics of growth, sexuality and divination, as much in terms of the unconscious as the subconscious.

"Evidence of the primary mythic role played by the dog, that of psychopomp, is worldwide. Having been man's companion in the light of living day, the dog becomes the guide through the darkness of death. At every stage of Western cultural history the dog has featured among such powerful psychopomps as Anubis, Cerberus, Thoth, Hecate, or Hermes. But dogs are universal phenomena and make their appearance in every culture in different forms which serve only to enrich this primary symbolism."[b]

As will be explained later in the analysis, ground level and the levels of the stepped platform in Munchkinland not only represent levels of Hell, but concurrently with this, for certain specific characters in the movie (excluding the Munchkins), they also represent various levels of Dante's Purgatory and Paradise. (This 'triple representation' should not be taken to imply that the movie 'equates' Hell with Paradise, or some such thing. Each representation is independent of the others).

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

[Image at left from the Wikipedia 'Titanic (1997 film)' page; "Titanic poster",[a] licensed under fair use via Wikipedia.]

Welcome to the analysis of Titanic. Buttons at the bottom of each post enable navigation through the parts of the analysis.

Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film which was directed, written, co-produced, co-edited and partly financed by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage.

Production on Titanic began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the actual Titanic wreck. The modern scenes were shot on board the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, which Cameron had used as a base when filming the wreck. A reconstruction of the Titanic was built at Playas de Rosarito in Baja California, and scale models and computer-generated imagery were used to recreate the sinking. The film was partially funded by Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, and, at the time, was the most expensive film ever made, with an estimated budget of $200 million. Below is a plot synopsis of the film.

Plot
In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team aboard the research vessel Keldysh search the wreck of RMS Titanic for a necklace with a rare diamond, the Heart of the Ocean. They recover a safe and find inside a drawing of a nude woman wearing only the necklace. The drawing is dated April 14, 1912, the day the Titanic hit the iceberg. An elderly woman calling herself Rose Dawson Calvert and claiming to be the person in the drawing visits Lovett, and tells of her experiences as a passenger on the Titanic.

Above left: A safe found aboard the sunken Titanic is hauled onto the Keldysh. Above right: An elderly Rose Dawson Calvert views this hand-held mirror found in the safe; she says the mirror is one that belonged to her.

Ruth emphasizes the importance of Rose's engagement; the marriage will resolve the DeWitt Bukaters' secret financial problems. Made distraught by the engagement, Rose considers committing suicide by jumping off the ship's stern; Jack Dawson, a penniless artist, intervenes and convinces her not to jump. Discovered with Jack, Rose tells Cal she was looking over the edge and Jack saved her from falling. Cal is at first indifferent to Jack's actions, but when Rose indicates that some recognition is due, Cal offers Jack a small amount of money. After Rose mocks Cal by asking if saving her life meant so little, he invites Jack to dine with them in first class the following night. Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship, even though Cal and Ruth are wary of the young third class passenger. Following the dinner, Rose secretly joins Jack at a party in third class.

Jack and Rose dancing at the party in third class.

Cal and Ruth both disapprove of Rose seeing Jack, so Rose attempts to rebuff Jack's continuing advances. However, she soon realizes that she prefers him to Cal, and goes to meet him during what turns out to be the Titanic's last moments of daylight ever. They go to Rose's stateroom, where she asks Jack to sketch her nude wearing only the Heart of the Ocean necklace, which was Cal's engagement present to her. Afterward, they evade Cal's bodyguard and make love in an automobile in the ship's cargo hold. Later, the pair go to the ship's forward deck, witness a collision with an iceberg, then overhear the ship's officers and designer discussing its seriousness. Rose and Jack decide to warn her mother and Cal.

Cal opens his safe, and retrieves some items from it (below left). He finds among these items Jack's sketch of Rose, and he also finds a mocking note from Rose (as shown at below right).

Furious, Cal arranges for his bodyguard to slip the necklace into Jack's coat pocket. Accused of stealing it, Jack is arrested, taken to the Master-at-arms' office, and handcuffed to a pipe. Cal puts the necklace in his own coat pocket. Rose evades both Cal and her mother, who has managed to board a lifeboat, then frees Jack. The crew starts to launch flares to attempt to obtain help from nearby ships.

Once Jack and Rose reach the top deck, Cal and Jack encourage Rose to board a lifeboat (as shown at left).

Cal claims that he has arranged for himself and Jack to get off safely. After Rose boards, Cal tells Jack the arrangement is only for himself. As Rose's boat lowers away, she realizes she cannot leave Jack and jumps back on board the Titanic to reunite with him. Infuriated, Cal takes a pistol and chases them into the flooding first class dining saloon. After using up all of his ammunition, Cal realizes, to his chagrin, that he gave his coat and the diamond to Rose.

With the situation now extreme, Cal returns topside and boards a lifeboat by carrying a lost child in his arms (shown at left).

Jack and Rose return to the top deck. All lifeboats have now departed and passengers are falling to their deaths as the stern rises out of the water and the ship's power goes out. The ship then breaks in half, and the stern rises 90 degrees into the air (below left). As it sinks, Jack and Rose ride the stern into the ocean. Jack helps Rose onto a wooden panel only buoyant enough to support one person (below right). Holding the edge of the panel, he assures her she will die an old woman, warm in her bed. Jack dies from hypothermia. Fifth Officer Harold Lowe has commandeered a lifeboat to search for survivors. Rose gets Lowe's attention and is saved.

Rose and the other survivors are taken by the RMS Carpathia to New York, where Rose gives her name as Rose Dawson in memory of Jack. She hides from Cal on Carpathia's deck as he searches for her. She learns later that he committed suicide after losing everything in the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Rose's story causes Lovett to abandon his search. Rose goes alone to the stern of Keldysh, takes out the Heart of the Ocean — in her possession all along (below left) — and drops it into the sea over the wreck site. When she is seemingly asleep in her bed, the photos on her dresser show she lived a life of freedom and adventure thanks to Jack. A young Rose is then seen reuniting with Jack at the Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic, congratulated by those who perished on the ship (below right).[b]

Above left: Early in the movie, a man makes use of a computerized simulation to explain the Titanic sinking scenario to an elderly Rose (seated at left). Above right: A close-up of the Titanic on the man's computer screen. The forward starboard (front right) portholes on C deck, are enclosed in the green rectangle pointed to by the yellow arrow.

A magnified view of the enclosed area from above. Note that there are fourteen forward starboard portholes on C deck on the computer diagram of the ship, which is presumably based on the original Titanic drawings that were created when the ship itself was designed. The point is that it was intended that Titanic, when built, would have fourteen portholes on the forward starboard side of C deck.

Above: A little later in the movie during Rose's 'flashback' of Titanic's voyage, it is evident that there are fifteen forward starboard portholes on C deck of the ship. The discrepancy between the designed and actual number of portholes is explained below.

The accepted version of the sinking of Titanic is that she sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg, during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK, to New York City, US; the sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.

An alternative theory concludes that the ship that sank was, in fact, Titanic's sister ship Olympic, disguised as Titanic, as an insurance scam.

Olympic was the older sister of Titanic, built alongside the more famous vessel but launched in October 1910 (Titanic was launched in 1912). Her exterior profile was nearly identical to Titanic, save for minor details such as the number of portholes on the forward C decks of the ships.[a]

In September 1911 during its fifth commercial voyage, the Olympic collided with the HMS Hawke near the Isle of Wight, southern England. It was later determined that suction from the Olympic had pulled the Hawke into the ocean liner. Both ships suffered major damage, and the Olympic did not return to service until November 1911.[b]

Because of the finding that Olympic was to blame for the collision, its insurers allegedly refused to pay out on the claim made on it. Since construction on Titanic had not yet been completed, and Olympic had to be repaired, a serious financial loss would be incurred by the company that owned the two ships, White Star Line, due to loss of use. To make sure at least one vessel was earning money, the badly damaged Olympic was patched-up and then converted to become the Titanic. The real Titanic when complete would then quietly enter service as the Olympic. One alleged plan was that the patched-up Olympic, disguised as Titanic, would then be disposed of in such a manner so that White Star could collect the full insured value of a brand new ship.[a]

Since the maker of the film under analysis here, James Cameron, depicts the designed number of portholes on the Titanic (14, on the forward starboard part of C deck) to be different than the actual number when it set sail (15 at this location, the same number as on the Olympic - see first photo below), the indication is that he believes that the Olympic and Titanic were, in fact, switched.

Recall from previous posts in this analysis that Cameron placed inaccuracies in the film. He did this intentionally, in order to get us, the audience, to question (and research) the accepted version of events surrounding the Titanic and its sinking. When we see that we have been 'deceived' about the history of the Titanic by Cameron, we are to extrapolate this to the fact that we have been lied to about the ship's history in real life. Then, each of us will be in the proper frame of mind such that we can realize and accept the fact, that the Titanic was switched with the Olympic.

Olympic arriving at New York on her maiden voyage in June 1911. There are fifteen forward starboard portholes on C deck. The name "Olympic" can be seen inside the brown oval (click image to enlarge). [Image from the Wikipedia 'RMS Olympic' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; edited for clarity.]

RMS Titanic departing Southampton on 10 April 1912. There are fifteen forward starboard portholes on C deck. The name "Titanic" is discernible inside the brown oval (click image to enlarge). [Image from the Wikipedia 'RMS Titanic' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; edited for clarity.]

Monday, May 5, 2014

Above left: James A. Michener, American author.[a] Above center: The cover of one of Michener's novels, Centennial (published in 1974).[b] Above right: The cover of Michener's Poland (1983).[c]

Welcome to the James Michener analysis. Buttons at the bottom of each post enable navigation through the parts of the analysis. Regarding the appearance of possible anti-Semitism on this blog, please see the 'Disclaimers' section near the bottom of this page.

James Michener, in full James Albert Michener (born Feb. 3, 1907?, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 16, 1997, Austin, Texas), was a U.S. novelist and short-story writer who, perhaps more than any other single author, made foreign environments accessible to Americans through fiction. Best known for his novels, he wrote epic and detailed works classified as fictional documentaries.[d]

In analyzing various films on this blog, there have been correspondences discovered between many of these films, and the late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (this film itself is also analyzed on this blog). These correspondences have yielded valuable information as to the underlying meaning of A Space Odyssey, a film in which Kubrick was making statements and predictions about society that are crucial to understand, in order to assess where we as a society are today. Therefore, the first thing we want to check into in this analysis, is whether there are any links between James Michener and Kubrick.

Given that 2001: A Space Odyssey is a fictional film having to do with space exploration, and given that Michener's novel Space (published in 1982) itself has to do with exploration of space, one place to start is to see if there are any links between 2001 and Space. In fact, there are several such links, as described below.

Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was developed alongside science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name. There are several mentions of Clarke in Space, for example, where Michener, as narrator, describes that scientist Stanley Mott (one of the main characters in Space) was impressed by Clarke's writing: "Mott was impressed by the skill displayed in [certain science fiction short stories], but the one which made the most lasting impression was by an Englishman living in Ceylon, Arthur C. Clarke..."[e]

Another link between Space and A Space Odyssey has Michener, again as narrator, describing a certain (semi-fictional) island (which he calls Peenemünde), as it appears on a map, as resembling "a fetus, a monstrous thing brought to birth by mad scientists..."[f] In the final scene in Kubrick's film, a giant fetus floats near Earth (see screencap below).

A Space Odyssey ends with a giant fetus floating in space, gazing at Earth.

A somewhat more 'indirect' link between Space and Kubrick's film, has to do with something called the Egyptian Ogdoad, a set of eight deities which were worshiped in ancient Egypt. Part 45 of the Space Odyssey analysis on this blog discusses Kubrick's positing of a '5 + 3' ogdoadal system. To see how the Ogdoad applies to Michener's book, it is first observed that the first two chapters of Space are titled "Four Men" and "Four Women" respectively. In the book, each of the four men marries one of the four women, forming four male-female pairs. The eight deities of the Ogdoad itself were arranged in four male-female pairs, with each pair representing the male and female aspects of one of four concepts, namely, the primordial waters (Nu and Naunet), air or invisibility (Amun and Amunet), eternity or infinite space (Huh and Hauhet), and darkness (Kuk and Kauket). These pairs can be matched up with the husband-wife pairs in Michener's novel: Norman Grant (former Navy man) together with his wife, Elinor, represent the primordial waters; Stanley Mott (aeronautical engineer) and his wife, Rachel, represent air; John Pope (astronaut) and his wife, Penny, correspond to infinite space; and Dieter and Liesl Kolff represent darkness since, more so than with the other major characters, the action involving Dieter, as well as that involving both Dieter and Liesl together, takes place during darkness.

Having established a few links between Space and 2001, and thus between Michener and Kubrick, it will now be shown that two of Michener's novels, Centennial (published in 1974) and Poland (1983), are linked to each other, and that this link yields a clue as to Kubrick's and Michener's belief that the public has been given an inaccurate accounting of the Holocaust. In addition to this, analysis of Centennial leads to the conclusion that Michener believed that certain Mormons have the long-range intention of assembling certain North American Indian[g] tribes together into one geographic location and having their members 'convert' to certain religious principles (as necessary) such as belief in Jesus, and then establishing Zion (i.e., a New Jerusalem, or modern-day utopia) composed, in part, of these tribes. These Mormons appear to believe that the particular Indian tribes that they are trying to get together, consist of the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
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Centennial's chapter 7 (titled "The Massacre") is based on the Sand Creek Massacre, which took place in Kiowa County, Colorado in 1864. As discussed below, Kubrick and Michener believed that the public has been given an inaccurate version of what actually happened at Sand Creek; the commonly accepted version of events is that a band of soldiers, effectively acting on behalf of white settlers of the American West, massacred a tribe of Native Americans (i.e., American Indians) living at Sand Creek.

Also contained in chapter 7 of Centennial is a passage linking the Mormons with the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. This passage begins by giving the reader some background on the fictional character, Frank Skimmerhorn,[h] who has come to Colorado to help solve the 'Indian problem' there:

He was Frank Skimmerhorn, from some old family of Schermerhorns, no doubt, and he came from Minnesota. There, in the years 1861–62 he had become acquainted at first hand with Indian problems, for the Sioux, irritated by some minor alteration in procedures, had run wild and killed his parents, his wife and his daughter. A farm which had been worth twenty thousand dollars had been left desolated, and he had moved homeless from one Minnesota town to the next, hearing the terrible stories of damage done by the Sioux—a hundred ranches burned, two hundred people scalped, a whole section of the nation in disarray, and all because of a few fractious Indians.

He left Minnesota with his son, satisfied never to return. Rights to his farmland he had sold for fifteen hundred dollars, and with this he had returned to his childhood home in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he tried to piece together for himself an explanation of what he had seen during the Indian uprising, and one night after a church meeting it had all been made clear.

A farmer who had lived in Nauvoo all his life said, "I never cared for the Mormons. Now understand, I didn't go to war against them the way some of my neighbors did, and I never put fire to their barns. But as a people they don't please me, and their idea of one man having fifty-three wives, which they did. Yes, they did..." He lost his thread and leaned against his carriage. "What was my point, Skimmerhorn?"

"You didn't cotton to the Mormons."

"Yes. Like I was sayin', I could certainly not be called their defender, but they did have one idea that made a lot of sense, a lot of good common sense." He paused here to let that sink in, and Skimmerhorn asked obligingly, "What was it?"

"They had done a lot of serious study about the Indians. Sounded a good deal like you, when they talked. Confused as to who the Indians were and
why they behaved in the unchristian way they did. And then it came to them in a prophecy kind of. God sent them a message sayin' that the Indians
were really Lamanites, the Lost Tribes of Israel. Yessir, way back in the year 722 B.C. when the Assyrian King Sargon took 'em into bondage...ten tribes...they never got back to Israel...just wandered about the world."

"That's very interesting," Skimmerhorn said.

"You know it's true," his informant continued enthusiastically. "The Indian medicine lodge, for example, with all that mysterious going-on. What is it really? The tabernacle of the Lost Tribes. And you talk about sackcloth and ashes in the Bible. Don't the Indians mourn by cutting their hair and slashing their arms? Seems clear to me they're Jews."

"That would explain why they're so hellish," Skimmerhorn said, grasping his informant by the arm. "You said they were Lamanites? Now, just what does that mean?"

"I'm not a Mormon, you understand, but I've had my brushes with the Indians, so I listened, and as near as I could make out, the Lamanites were God's name for the Lost Tribes, and because they had known God and turned their backs on Him, he put a powerful curse on them, and darkened their faces, and turned all men against them. Skimmerhorn, if they knew God and rejected Him, it's our duty to hunt them down and slay them. It's our bounden duty."

For some days Frank Skimmerhorn pondered this matter of the Lamanites, and he asked throughout Nauvoo for other recollections the villagers might have as to what exactly the Mormons had said during their unhappy stay there on their way to Salt Lake City, and he came up with a profound body of confirmation. The Indians really were the Ten Lost Tribes. They had been led to America by the Prophet Lehi and their faces had been darkened because of their sin in rejecting the Lord. To exterminate them was both a duty and an exaltation. They were an abomination to honest men, and the sooner they were wiped from the face of the earth, the better.

In a dream, brought on perhaps by too much listening and too much brooding on this problem, Frank Skimmerhorn saw that he was destined to go to Colorado, where the Indians were causing trouble among the gold-seekers, and put an end to that trouble. It was more than an invitation; it was a command. In the Clarion he wrote: [a letter denouncing the Indians and saying they must be exterminated] [this letter was then widely printed ...][i]
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Later in chapter 7, Skimmerhorn leads a large group of American soldiers into battle with the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian tribes, and this battle is Michener's 'allegory' for the Sand Creek massacre. However, part of the reason Michener has the battle take place in a fictional location (at 'Rattlesnake Buttes'), instead of at the actual Sand Creek site (which is near the modern-day town of Eads, Colorado, about 200 miles south, and slightly to the west, of Julesburg) (see the below left-hand map for the locations of Julesburg and the fictional Rattlesnake Buttes), is to help convey to us the idea that certain historians, and the popular media, have given us a fictional version of the events that happened at Sand Creek - Michener intends for Centennial's readers, to notice the discrepancy in locations just mentioned, and to then investigate the story of the battle itself.

Ultimately, Michener believed that Sand Creek was, in fact, not the massacre it is commonly portrayed as having been. In fact, Michener, in his introduction to the 1978-1979 TV miniseries based on Centennial, says that a massacre did take place in 1864, but he does not specify that it was a massacre of Indians by whites; and, as explained below, Michener is actually referring to a (real-life) Indian massacre of whites, at Julesburg. Based on the analysis of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, The Shining (this analysis can be viewed on the Can Analyze Kubrick blog), Kubrick himself also believed that the public has been given an inaccurate version of the events at Sand Creek; and, the Sand Creek 'allegory' in The Shining is a 'surface' allegory for the Holocaust, and for Kubrick's belief that the public has been given an inaccurate version of the Holocaust as well. Michener himself also believed this, as described below.

In order to link Centennial with Poland, and to thus see how it is that Michener depicts the idea that the public has been given a false version of the Holocaust, we first review some basic information about Poland:

Poland is a historical novel detailing the times and tribulations of three Polish families (the Lubonski family, the Bukowski family, and the Buk family) across eight centuries, ending in the then-present day (1981). The three families are fictional as are the other characters in the book. The plot, however, takes place throughout the history of Poland and contains many historic people. The events are largely real events in which the fictional characters interact. Chapter 9, "The Terror", is about invasion and occupation by the Nazis during World War II, including the Holocaust in Poland; and the subsequent Soviet occupation. Much attention is devoted to the Polish resistance movement in World War II, including the Leśni (foresters).[j][k]

Above left: A map from chapter 7 of Centennial, showing the extent of the area of Colorado jointly occupied by the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian tribes, after the treaty of 1851.[l] Michener's fictional town of Centennial is established a few decades later than the time period depicted by the above map, and is therefore not shown on the map, but it comes to be located at the point where the fictional 'Zendt's Farm' is shown (denoted on the map by the small purple circle), on the South Platte River upstream of its confluence with the North Platte River (the location of this confluence is marked by the small blue circle). The aforementioned Rattlesnake Buttes (established in 1861) is located in the area inside the pinkish oval. Above right: A map of the Kindom of Poland and the surrounding countries, taken from chapter 8 of Poland, depicting the geographical situation after the Napoleonic Wars.[m] As can be seen on the map, Michener's fictional town of Bukowo (inside the yellow circle) is located on the Vistula River (the Vistula is denoted by the two reddish arrows), upstream of its confluence with the San River. (The San flows into the Vistula from the southeast; the confluence is marked by the green circle.) The Vistula runs north from this confluence, winding around a bit before it empties into the Baltic Sea. As indicated above, Michener not only did not believe that white soldiers massacred the Indians at Sand Creek, but he mentions a real-life massacre of settlers by Indians, at a small settlement named Julesburg (Julesburg is shown on the map of the Indian territories, further downstream on the South Platte from Zendt's Farm, and is denoted by the small orange circle): On pages 590-591 of Centennial (in Chapter 7, shortly after the story of the Sand Creek battle), it is mentioned that rampaging Indians over-ran Julesburg. It is this massacre that Michener is referring to in his statement made in his introduction to the TV miniseries mentioned above.

One geographical correspondence between the areas depicted on the two maps, is that both Julesburg and Bukowo are located at similar distances upstream from the respective river confluences (about 85 - 90 miles for Julesburg, and approximately 50 miles for Bukowo). If the map from Centennial is rotated ninety degrees clockwise, and we reverse, in our 'mind's eye', the flow of the South Platte, so that it runs from east to west (south to north in the rotated map), additional geographical correspondences between the two maps can be drawn: When the Indian region is rotated as stated, it is roughly similar in size and shape to Poland. Also, the Vistula River traces out a route somewhat similar in shape to the one now followed by the South Platte (except that the Vistula's curvature in the area of the aforementioned confluence with the San, is greater than that of the South Platte at its confluence with the North Platte). Also note that both the South Platte and the Vistula divide their respective regions along a north-south axis into two approximately equal-in-area halves (again, when using the rotated map of the Indian region).

We can also draw geographical correspondences between the various surrounding Indian territories shown in the map from Centennial, with the surrounding countries in the map from Poland: When the Indian map is rotated, the Sioux, Crow, and Pawnee territories, all taken together, correspond to Russia. Also, Comanche and Ute countries (together) correspond to Germany, and the region between the Pawnee and Comanche territories, and to the east of Arapaho/Cheyenne territory (in the non-rotated map), roughly corresponds to Austria (once the Indian map is rotated). The overall point of all of this is that Michener is drawing a correspondence between Centennial and Poland - he is allegorically connecting the events at Sand Creek in Colorado, with World War II and the Holocaust in Poland (this is the subject of Chapter 9 of Poland; as stated above, this chapter is titled "The Terror"). The connection is that not only has the public been given an inaccurate version of what happened at Sand Creek (i.e., it was not a wholesale slaughter of Indians by whites), but correspondingly, the public has also been given an inaccurate historical account of the Holocaust (i.e., the account of the slaughter of Jews during the Holocaust, has been exaggerated). The fact that the map of the Indian territories was rotated clockwise by ninety degrees to yield the above-described correspondences, is a 'match' for the ninety degree image rotation 'theme' in 2001: A Space Odyssey (as described in part 11 of the analysis of 2001 on this blog).

Both Kubrick and Michener must have done extensive research on the Holocaust (and/or had researchers do it for them), which would have included, among other things, checking into factual records regarding how may Jews were killed. If the logic used by the two men regarding Sand Creek (Michener in Centennial and Kubrick in The Shining) is followed, and applied to the Holocaust, then we can conclude that the two men believed that the Holocaust has been depicted inaccurately, by mainstream historians, the popular media, and other parties; e.g., the number of Jews killed that is typically stated is much higher than it was in reality. Note that Michener's figures in chapter 9 of Poland reveal that more Christians (220,000) than Jews (140,000) were killed at the Majdanek death camp. Michener claims that "the three centers of Nazi terror in Lublin—Under the Clock, Zamek Lublin and Majdanek—are historic and are depicted as accurately as data permit, except that the specializations of the various fields at Majdanek varied from time to time."[n]

In addition to the topics discussed above (the inaccuracy of the commonly accepted versions of Sand Creek and the Holocaust), Michener is also having some of the action in Centennial depict a partial 'microcosm', for what he believed the Mormons are currently doing in North America regarding the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, i.e., the establishment of Zion, as mentioned earlier in this post. However, before this is discussed, a certain document from Mormonism needs to be reviewed. This document is called The Articles of Faith, and certain portions of it will be looked at in the next post in this analysis.

a. Image from the Wikipedia 'James Albert Michener' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
b. Image from the Wikipedia 'Centennial (novel)' page; "James A._Michener - Centennial (novel)", licensed under fair use via Wikipedia. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the publisher of the book, Random House, or the artist(s) who created the cover artwork.
c. Image from the Wikipedia 'Poland (novel)' page; "Miche poland 1st ed", licensed under fair use via Wikipedia. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the publisher of the book, Random House, or the artist(s) who created the cover artwork.
d. 'James Michener'. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 04 Sep. 2015.
URL = http://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Albert-Michener.
e. Michener, James A. Space. Introduction by Steve Berry. Dial Press, 2015. Google Books, p. 538. URL = https://books.google.com. The other two mentions of Clarke are on pages 620 and 848, respectively.
f. Ibid., p. 30. Peenemünde is the name of a real city, located in Germany relatively close to where Michener's fictional island of this name is situated.
g. By "North American Indian" tribes is meant not only those groups of Native Americans located within the 50 states of the United States, but also groups of native peoples living in Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.
h. The Skimmerhorn character in Centennial is, to some degree, a representation of an actual person from history, Colonel John Chivington.
i. Michener, James A. Centennial. Introduction by Steve Berry. Dial Press, 2015. Google Books, pp. 557-560. URL = https://books.google.com.
j. Wikipedia, 'Poland (novel)'. Web, n.d. URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_(novel).
k. Michener calls the Leśni the 'Stork Commando' in his novel, and he says at the beginning of the book that the Polish retaliation against the Germans in Zamość is based on actual events: the Poles not only killed Nazi soldiers there, but they also killed innocent German civilians.
l. Map from Centennial, p. 397.
m. Map from Michener, James A., Poland, New York: Random House, 1983, p. 390.
n. Michener, James A. Poland. Introduction by Steve Berry. Dial Press, 2015. Google Books, p. 9. URL = https://books.google.com. Since Poland was published in 1983, Michener was, in fact, using the most recent (at the time) commonly available data for his figure of 360,000 prisoners killed at Majdanek; for according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum website, "The figure of 360,000 victims appears in the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, the Britannica Polish edition, and the Polish Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN. In all three cases, the source is a 1948 publication by Zdzisław Łukaszkiewicz, a judge who was a member of the Main Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland." (--Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum website, "Majdanek Victims Enumerated. Changes in the history textbooks?", 23 Dec. 2005, Web, URL = http://auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/majdanek-victims-enumerated-changes-in-the-history-textbooks,44.html.) However, according to the same website, Tomasz Kranz later calculated a total of 78,000 prisoners killed at Majdanek. As an aside, Stanley Kubrick has reportedly said that, "The Holocaust is about six million people who get killed. 'Schindler's List' is about 600 who don't." (--Goldmann, A.J., (August 21, 2005), "Eyes wide open", Haaretz, Web, URL = http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/eyes-wide-open-1.167674.) If Kubrick did make this statement, he was using the word "about" as if to say, that this is the popular perception of what the Holocaust was, not what it was in reality.

Disclaimers1) In certain instances it has been determined that the creators of some of the productions analyzed on this blog, and/or the creators of source material(s) used in the making of these productions, may be making negative statements about certain segments of society in their productions. These statements should be taken as expressing the opinions of no one other than the creators.

2) This blog is not associated with any of the studios, creators, authors, publishers, directors, actors, musicians, writers, editors, crew, staff, agents, or any other persons or entities involved at any stage in the making of any of the media productions or source materials that are analyzed, mentioned, or referenced herein.

3) In keeping with the policies of the filmmakers, authors, studios, writers, publishers, and musicians, that have created the productions (and their source materials) that are analyzed, mentioned, or referenced on this blog, any similarity of the characters in these films or source materials to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.